


Flashback

by Ladyayla121



Series: Descendent of Mythal [4]
Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-27
Updated: 2016-12-27
Packaged: 2018-09-12 14:26:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9076453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ladyayla121/pseuds/Ladyayla121
Summary: Nyxlyn relives a flashback in the Fade. Of the night she drank from the Well of Sorrows. She watches it with amusement at all the hidden meanings and secret each are trying to hide. If only all of them had picked up on Cole's admission.





	

It took almost months for all of the Clans to arrive in Mythal’s Sanctuary. During that time Nyxlyn discovered how to shut Solas out of her dreams in the Fade completely unless she allowed him to enter. She had to keep her two most guarded secrets from him and the Fade had a way of revealing them in dreams sometimes. She especially wanted to keep the fact that she was a month and a half months pregnant from him for fear of him telling her to kill the babe or worse gave up his mission and would come to resent her. She knew it came at a horrifying time and that even if he did want it to live she didn’t want to add more to his pain and loneliness. With that goal Nyxlyn quickly mastered her Fade powers in those two months, learning to mediate in the Fade itself and absorbing the magic there thanks to the whispers from the Well of Sorrows. 

She sat there in the Fade playing through her memory of drinking from Well of Sorrows. She replays through from when Morrigan and herself stopped Abelas from destroying the Well. 

“You heard his parting words, Inquisitor. The elf seeks to destroy the Well of Sorrows.” Morrigan stated calmly.

Abelas look at Nyxlyn and says, “So the sanctum is despoiled at last.”

“You would have destroyed the well yourself given the chance.” Morrigan narrowed her eyes at the Ancient elf.

“To keep it from your grasping fingers! Better it lost than bestowed upon the Undeserving!” He shouted at her. 

“Fool! You’d let your People’s Legacy rot in the shadows!

“Enough,” Nyxlyn commands.

“You cannot honestly---“

“I said, enough!” Nyxlyn commanded again more urgently this time.

Morrigan stared from Abelas to the Inquisitor and repeated it once again. Abelas also did the same between the two women mages. She could feel his gaze settle on her as he studied her. He knew he was seeing her markings, he knew what they meant. He also could her discomfort at hearing those whispers without having even done anything yet. She could feel it calling to her, like it chose her. He could sense it too and she feared he would give up her secret. He nodded his head at her slightly in acknowledgement of who she was and smiled so she knew she was safe. Nobody else saw that exchange save Solas who thought it was directed at him.

“The Well clearly offers power, Inquisitor. If that power can be used against Corypheus, can you afford not to use it?” Morrigan asked.

Shaking his head at Morrigan, he asks, “Do you even know what you ask?’ He turns toward the to well and continues. “As each servant of Mythal reached the end of their years, they would pass their knowledge on… through this.” He directed his gaze pointedly at Nyxlyn again as he said, “All that we were, all that we knew. It would be lost forever.” She felt the pull of the Well and tried hard to resist. She felt Abelas’s voice in her head. ‘You aren’t a servant but a direct descendent of Mythal, yes?’ he asked. She gave a slight nod. ‘Then if one of you drinks it must be you. It was meant for you Queen of the Elevhen, both Ancient and current. You have an interesting future ahead. I will meet you in Sanctuary when you are ready.’

“That can’t be easy, holding on to what’s left.” 

“You cannot imagine. Each time we Awaken, it slips further from our grasp.” He says sadly.

“There are other places, Friend. Other duties, your People yet linger.” Chimes Solas with determination. 

Nyxlyn shakes her head as she watches this display. If she knew then what she knew now. If only he knew that Abelas was in fact her agent and not his. She smiled mischievously.

“Elvhen such as you.” Abelas states matter of factly. Even then he hinted to her who Solas really was. Being a lovesick fool she had brushed aside all warnings.

“Yes, such as I.” Solas’s voice took on a more commanding tone as he said this. 

I am such an idiot, she says to herself as she watched this exchange with new perspective.

“You have shown respect to Mythal, and there is a righteousness in you I cannot deny.” Abelas replies his gaze flickering between both her and Solas. He settles on her as he asks her, “Is that your desire? To partake of the Vir’Abelasan as best you can, to fight your enemies?” His gaze flickered briefly to Solas who was observing the ruin and didn’t catch it.

“Not without your permission.” Nyxlyn said her chin lifted in the regal command.

“One does not obtain permission, one obtains the right.” He had chosen his words carefully. Made sure she knew it was hers by right and up to her how she should proceed. Either drink from the Well or have Morrigan do so. Abelas starts walking off before he stops and says, “The Vir’Abelasan may be too much for a mortal to comprehend.” He turned back to look at her, “Brave it if you must, but know this you will forever be bound to the will of Mythal.”

Nyxlyn snorted softly in an unladylike chuckle causing Solas to stare at her with bewilderment meanwhile Morrigan responded, “Bound? To a Goddess who no longer exists, if she ever did?”  
“Bound, as we are bound. The choice is yours.” Abelas answers arrogantly. 

“Is it possible that Mythal still exists?” Nyxlyn asks for Morrigan’s benefit, since she already knew the answer.

“Anything is possible.”

“But Elven Legend stated the Mythal was tricked by Fen’Harel and banished to the beyond.” Morrigan stated knowingly.

“Elven Legend is wrong. The Dread Wolf had nothing to do with her murder.” He growled defensively. Nyxlyn rolled her eyes a bit as she knew her Clan had created those false legends to protect their Ancestry as well as Mythal’s Sanctuary. Luckily nobody noticed but Abelas. Seeing as her back was facing Solas he couldn’t see any of her faces.

“Her secrets, his secrets coinciding. Amusement floating near the one who bears his mark. His secrets she’ll know soon, but hers are protected by Keepers.” Cole chimes in nonsensical nonsense. But both she, Abelas, and Solas all stiffened as they understood there parts but each one not hearing the others or noticing the tension as their secrets were somewhat spilled. 

Morrigan however was still reeling over Abelas’s revelation. “Murder? I said nothing of---“

“She was slain, if a God truly can be. Betrayed by those who destroyed this Temple.” Abelas told them. This part Nyxlyn had not known and hoped he would elaborate on that sometime in the future. “Yet the Vir’Abelasan remains. As do we, that is something.”

“Are you leaving the temple?’ Morrigan asks.

“My duty ends, why remain here?” 

“There is a place for you, Lathallin…if you seek it.” Solas offers without even asking her about recruiting him. 

I can’t believe I never caught on, she sighs. He wasn’t asking him to join the Inquisition; he was recruiting him for himself. Nyxlyn laughs at both of their clueless dumb selves. So much hinting and both equally trying to keep their secrets locked up tight in this one moment. Cole even spilled huge hints and still they both didn’t catch it.

He can feel her amusement pulse throughout the Fade overwhelming his senses making him smile for no particular reason. He drifts to her but comes up to her barrier and is shocked when he is blasted back. How did she do that? She doesn’t know how to use Fade magic. Or did she? How else would she be such a positive force within the Fade, he wondered. Sighing, he sits outside her barrier content to just be this close to her even though he couldn’t see her.

She had felt him try to enter but she didn’t want him reflecting on this, studying him, herself, possibly giving Abelas away as her agent rather than his. So she continued with the rest of her memory giving nothing away as she felt him right outside.

“Perhaps there are places the Shemlin have not touched. It may be that only the Uthenera awaits us. The blissful sleep of Eternity, never to Awaken. If fate is kind that is.” He answers Solas.

“Malas Amelin Ne Halam, Abelas.” I hope he finds a new name she translated to herself just as Solas turned to them. “His name, Abelas, means Sorrow. I said, “ I hope he finds a new name” he deserves a better one.” He told us.

She could feel Morrigan’s stare on her wondering what she was going to do. She had already made her decision. This was her birthright and though she wouldn’t become immortal until her she turned twenty-five she knew only she could handle the power. 

Morrigan walks to the Well looking down at the water with hunger before looking up at the intact Eluvian. “You’ll note the intact Eluvian. I was correct on that count, at least.” She sighs.

“Is it still a threat? Can Corypheus use it to travel the Fade? She her herself ask with so much stress.

“You’ll recall when I took you through my Eluvian, I said each required a Key? The Well is the key. Take its power and Mythal’s last Eluvian will be no more use to Corypheus than Glass. I did not expect the well to seem so…hungry.”

“Seems like that should be a concern.” Nyxlyn states.

“Knowledge begets a hunger for more.” Morrigan whispers before she looks at Nyxlyn. “I am willing to pay the price the Well demands. I am also the best suited to use its knowledge in your service.” Nyxlyn scoffs inside her head, not likely. Only I can pay the price since it will have to coincide with the Prophecy eventually she commented to herself.

“Or more likely to use it for your own ends,” Solas grumbles from beside Nyxlyn startling her because she hadn’t heard him even step up beside her.

“What would you know of my ‘ends’ elf?” Morrigan demands angrily.

“You are a glutton drooling at the sight of a feast! You cannot be trusted.” He shouts at her.

Morrigan ignores his outburst and looks at Nyxlyn again and gently demands, “Of those present, I alone have the training to make use of this. Let me drink, Inquisitor.”

Nyxlyn stands up straighter and raises her head slightly to assume her authority. “You Alone? This is my heritage!”

“I have studied the oldest lore. I have delved into mysteries of which you could only dream of?” Morrigan said the wrong thing and made Nyxlyn raise her head higher as her royal status began to show. “Please tell me if you think someone else here would be better suited!”

“I seriously doubt that, Morrigan. You heard what Abelas said about the Elven Legends and histories being wrong.” She said as subtle as possible without making any of them suspicious. “I am better suited.” She stated coldly.

“You lead the Inquisition. This is not a risk you can take. But I have the best chance of making use of the well…for everyone. Let Me Drink” She urged again. 

“You are not concerned about the price? Bound to the will of Mythal?” Nyxlyn asks knowing full well that despite whatever response Morrigan answered with she would not be able to handle it. Only Mythal’s descendants could drink from the Well and only those chosen. The Well had already chosen her the minute she had entered the Temple.

“Bound to the will of a dead God? It seems an empty warning.” She scoffed in disbelief. Nyxlyn shook her head at her answer in her mind. “Please let me drink! Give me this and I will fight at your side and become your sword.” 

“What do you hear from the whispers barely recognizable but still there? Can you understand the language?” Nyxlyn asks softly. “Looking at it, listening to it…that’s not just Ancient Knowledge from Elvhen Priests. Its there will.”

Solas was taken aback by this comment the Inquisitor just unleashed on Morrigan. He didn’t realize she could understand any of that let alone know about what went in to make this power. He couldn’t help him self as he asked, “How could you know such a thing, Lathallan?”

“That’s what Abelas was trying to explain. The collective will of the Priests puts anyone who is not worthy to drink it under a compulsion.” She explained. “Only those with Mythal’s markings can handle the Well and not feel that compulsion.” She lied. “The minute we got in here I know you have felt it. It’s drawing you in to your death.”

“That…would match the Legends. But you don’t know that for sure. I am still willing to pay the price.” Morrigan said more cautiously now.

Nyxlyn had already made up her mind but she had still wanted Sola’s advice because she knew he was going to not like this decision. “Thoughts?” She asked as she turned to her companions.

“She is right about one thin; we should take the power that lies in that well.” Solas offers vaguely.

“I’d trust you with this power more than her,” Blackwall tells her. “Especially since you seem to understand Abelas’s warning more than any of us do.”

“So many voices…they would be in your head. You don’t want them.” Cole says and disappears and reappears by her ear as he whispers in her ear. “You can do it though. Nobody else can. It was meant for you.”

“Enough deliberation, give me your decision.” Morrigan demands.

Nyxlyn pretends to consider it a minute more allowing for the conflicts to show on her face as she decides. She looks Morrigan straight in the eye as she tells them. “If anyone is to use the Well, it will be me.”

“So you will take what little knowledge you can understand, and let the rest go to waste?” Morrigan interrogates her. 

“And who’s to say it wont go to waste? I understand a lot more than what you two believe.” She tells them confidently look first to Morrigan and then to Solas whose face shows his absolute disapproval. “You two have such interesting opinions when it comes to my people but it is still my heritage. The Dalish aren’t as uneducated as you believe them to be Solas. I do understand you when you speak the Ancient Language more than you think. Yes, some of it was lost since we didn’t have the memories of it before the Gods disappeared but we still have some of it.”

“I do!” Morrigan shouts her face contorted with anger and disgust. It softens as he processes her speech and adds. “Do as you will with the Well of Sorrows, Inquisitor, just be careful.”

They all stand far away as she walked in to the water drenching her breeches, and robes. She shivered at the slight chill but continued to wade in warily. She knew she didn’t have anything to fear but it was still slightly unnerving with the whispers getting louder the closer she got to the middle. She turned around to give her companions a reassuring smile as she felt herself starting to absorb the magic. She took a small hand full and drank it. Nothing happened for a moment but then a explosion of magic blasted out of her and the Well, causing her to cry out from the pain it had inflicted on her. The blast pushed all the access water over her companions like a dangerous wave from the ocean knocking them all back. When they looked back she was gone.

Solas screamed her name in fear, and agony. They searched all over the temple before realizing she must have been transported to wherever the Well had taken her. They sat down to wait hoping that this wasn’t the end.

“Garas Quenathra?” A whisper comes from the fog as Nyxlyn walks warily.

“Why am I here?” She asks the fog. “Corypheus… A Magister wishes to rip the Veil open. I must learn to how to stop him. I am also the last direct descendent of Mythal of Clan Levellan. I know I must pay a price, so take whatever price you wish.”

“Oh my dear child, you have grown into a fine young woman with such a destiny ahead of you.” Said a voice to her right. She turned and met the face of a woman about ten years older than she with hair as black as midnight and eyes the color of blue sapphires just like hers were. Her face was sharper than hers and hers definitely longer pointed ears. She felt like she’s known her forever, for she had seen her face all her life growing up. 

“You’re Mythal,” Nyxlyn said in complete awe.

“I am indeed.”

“You know why I am here then?” 

“You are here to stop a power mad wannabe God and because of the Prophecy.” Mythal said getting straight to the point. “I know you have question about the Prophecy. I am sorry I can’t tell you much other than that it involves the person you love the most, Solas. You must fulfill it in order to protect everything you and I hold dear. The tree will give you what you need when you are ready. For now we must help you defeat Corypheus. I have a guardian dragon that you will find in the Emerald Graves. Go there, befriend her, and only take Morrigan with you.” 

“But she’s a dragon…how does one befriend a Dragon?” Nyxlyn asked befuddled. “Do I let her eat me?”

Mythal laughed a throaty rumble. “You are going to rescue her eggs from Trolls. They have invaded her nesting grounds and wont leave.”

“Great rescue dragon eggs with just me and Morrigan. That’s gonna end us quickly.” She replies sarcastically. “Can I take Varric or Sera? They are really good at stealing.”

“I meant don’t take anyone with you when you meet the Dragon. Just make them stay at camp.” Mythal told her. “Now I have one more thing to give you. I know you love Solas, but be wary of him, daughter for he is the Dread Wolf, Fen’Harel. It is his mark upon your hand that you bear. It will kill you before you reach your immortality so I am giving you the gift of it early. You will go through it when the mark starts to kill you two years after Corypheus is defeated. Take care child not to die before that or the world is forever doomed.” Mythal hugged her and branded with the visions of the future, her price for the magic and eventually her curse.


End file.
